A Female Broker Breathes Much Needed New Life Into 'Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles'

To be honest, I wasn’t really surprised that Josh Flagg, one of the stars of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, was kind of a jerk over the phone. On the show, he depicts himself as a rich kid who can’t be bothered with peons whose family names he doesn’t know. I’m a nobody, so why be nice to me?

He was supposed to give me tips on investing in real estate in Los Angeles. But my questions about the market there got me nowhere. Granted, he had just had back surgery. But still, when I asked how long it takes an outsider to get to know the neighborhoods in Los Angeles, he replied, “I can’t answer that because I’ve lived here my whole life. It’s just innate, because I was born and raised here.” Ok, but throw me a bone!

I hung up feeling like I had nothing to write about. Fortunately, Tracy Tutor Maltas, the newest cast member — and the first female on the show — was available to talk.

I liked Maltas from the moment she appeared on screen in the first episode. First of all, she’s beautiful. Secondly, she’s a boss. One of the top brokers at Douglas Elliman, she has no problem putting the boys on the show in their place. Which is beneath her.

“It’s a huge deal,” Maltas said of being cast in the tenth season of the show. “Women represent far more than fifty percent of the realtor community, so we should be represented, and we are represented on luxury listings from $5 million to $50 million.”

When asked why she thinks no women have been cast on the show before her, she responded: “I think it takes a particular type of personality to put yourself on camera, and do a show like this. People with those big personalities, they tend to be men.”

Maltas noted that while the show helped launch the careers of many of the men on the show, hers was thriving already. The difference was that it took her 42 years to feel comfortable enough in her own skin to open herself up to the scrutiny that comes with being on camera. “I’m good with me, I’m good with where I’m at, and I’m ready to put myself out there, good, bad and ugly.”

Like Flagg, Maltas was born and raised in Los Angeles. She grew up in Hidden Hills, and attended the University of Southern California.

Unlike Flagg, she doesn't lord it over outsiders. When asked what advice she has for people looking to invest in real estate in Los Angeles, she laughed: “I would say call me. Don’t call Josh Altman.”

Right now, she’s focused on properties on the west side of the city. “I am really interested to see where the values go in Brentwood, Santa Monica, and the Palisades. We’ve seen big numbers in the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills. I think the next big numbers will be Brentwood.”

I ended our conversation gushing that I thought she would breathe new life into a show that, to be honest, often sits on my DVR for months. With Tracy in the cast, I can tell you already, I’ll be tuning in avidly.

Brienne Walsh received her BA in art history from Brown University in 2004. She has worked in the art world for over a decade, first as a gallerina, and then as an art critic. After receiving her Master’s degree in contemporary art with a focus on critical theory from Colum...